IK Multimedia SampleMoog

4GB of samples from 16 different classic Moog synths. No algorithmic models need apply.

By Orren Merton

Musicians have a love affair with the Moog sound. Those fat filters, deep bases, and resonant leads have in many ways defined what synthesizers "should" sound like. So it's no surprise some of the very first sample libraries and virtual instruments emulated the classic Moog sound, with varying degrees of success.

Now IK Multimedia's SampleMoog is out, bringing its own unique elements to the virtual Moog party. SampleMoog runs stand-alone or as a VST or RTAS plug-in under Windows or Mac OS X. It can also run as an Audio Units plug-in on the Mac.

As the name implies, SampleMoog is not an algorithmic simulation of a Moog instrument, but rather it includes 4GB of samples culled from various Moogs. And that is arguably SampleMoog's main feature: it offers a selection of sounds from 16 different Moog instruments, both rare and common, vintage and modern. In addition to three different Moog Modulars and a Minimoog Model D, there are models of the Polymoog, Taurus bass pedals, Prodigy, Moog Vocoder, Multimoog, Concertmate, Etherwave Theramin, Memorymoog, Voyager, Little Phatty, and more.

A tank of samples

SampleMoog uses IK Multimedia's SampleTank 2.5 sample playback engine in a custom skinned UI. The basic layout of the presets, sample search, selection, and control options will be familiar to SampleTank users, however SampleMoog features a unique Moog-inspired skin.

The SampleTank 2.5 engine is 16-part multi-timbral, and it offers up to a whopping 256 voices of polyphony. You have access to 16 stereo outputs. There are four effects slots, for which you can choose one of the 32 built-in DSP effects ranging from reverbs, delays, distortions, EQs, and dynamics-based effects, panning, and slicing/BPM based effects.

SampleMoog also offers a multi-mode filter that can be switched between low-pass, band-pass, and high-pass modes. The filter offers three steepness slopes: 6dB, 12dB, or 24dB. For the 12dB and 24dB curves you can also adjust the resonance.

SampleMoog has two AHDSR-style envelopes: one that controls amplitude and volume and another that controls pitch tuning and/or the frequency of the filter. it also also offers two LFOs. Both LFOs can sync to host tempo, but only LFO1 offers a "free run" switch, which restarts the LFO when a new key is pressed. LFO1 offers separate parameters for modulating volume, filter cutoff, and pitch tuning. LFO2 can modulate panning in addition to LFO1's three parameters.

SampleTank 2.5 offers both resampling and its custom STRETCH engine, both of which are present in SampleMoog. Resampling is the traditional method for changing sample pitch, which affects both pitch and tempo simultaneously. The STRETCH algorithm allows for independent adjustment of pitch, tempo, and timbre. It also offers parameters for fine tuning the algorithm, maintaining harmonics and fundamentals, pitch bend interval, and so on.

While SampleMoog doesn't offer much in the way of rhythmic phrase samples, I still found the STRETCH algorithm very useful for adjusting pitch and retaining the fundamentals and harmonics more precisely than the resampling algorithm. That said, the resampling algorithm is also very good, and it doesn't create artifacts until you go extreme with your repitching.

The SampleTank 2.5 engine also allows for full MIDI assignability, various layering and splitting options, and more.

Lotsa Moog

Probably the biggest selling point of SampleMoog is its vast collection of vintage instruments. The samples themselves sound very good, as does the SampleTank 2.5 synth engine. Thanks to the 16-part multi-timbrality, it's very easy for a single instance of SampleMoog to sound like a stack of Moogs that would be the envy of any vintage collector without overloading a modern PC or Mac.

Because a sample-playback based instrument uses its samples as the oscillators, you don't get the full-range of control that you would over a completely algorithmic-based instrument. Thankfully the IK Multimedia and Sonic Reality teams dutifully sampled the signature tones of the various Moogs.

I don't have personal experience with every Moog instrument they sampled, but the Moog Modular, Minimoog, Memorymoog, and modern Moogs (Voyager and Little Phatty) sound extremely convincingly like their hardware counterparts. The basses are rich and full across the entire span of the keyboard, the leads are bold, and the filtered samples capture the sound of the classic Moog filters very effectively.

Obviously, with a nearly infinite number of possible filter and modulation routings, especially on the Moog Modular, it wouldn't have been feasible to sample every single possible sonic permutation of these analog instruments. Still, I am a bit surprised that every preset from those Moogs with preset memories weren't included. Then again, those presets not recreated here may have not been different enough from the included samples to warrant the trouble.

On the other hand, the SampleTank 2.5 engine is not limited to recreating the control set of a single Moog instrument, so SampleMoog offers a lot more sound shaping possibilities and potential than any of the faithful single-instrument recreations. For example, you can start with a Polymoog lead, activate the STRETCH engine for some formant and pitch adjustments, and add some slicer and dynamics multi-effects. The result will be unique, but still have an undeniable Moog flavor.

Moog in vogue

If you're interested in a faithful Moog Modular or Minimoog and want to program it yourself, there are other options to consider. But if you're intrigued by the creative potential of starting with Moog sounds as the basis for further construction and deconstruction, the SampleTank 2.5 engine has a lot to offer. And if you're looking for a collection of rare and vintage Moog sounds, SampleMoog is the only game in town.



IK Multimedia SampleMoog, $329.99

www.ikmultimedia.com/samplemoog

System requirements: Mac G4/866, 512MB; suggested dual 1.25 GHz G4, 1GB RAM; OS X 10.4+. Windows Pentium 1GHz/Athlon 1.33GHz 512MB RAM, 512MB; suggested Pentium 2.4GHz/Athlon XP 2.4GHz 1GB RAM. Windows XP/Vista.

Formats: AU, VST, RTAS




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